Spring training baseball

Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts throws to first base for an out during Friday's spring training game against the Blue Jays at Dunedin, Fla. The Blue Jays won 1-0.

Published March 23. 2013 12:01AM | Updated March 23. 2013 12:04AM

Yankees 9, Twins 7

Robinson Cano returned from the World Baseball Classic, his swing in fine form for the New York Yankees.

Ivan Nova would like to go back and do this game over.

Cano drove in two runs to help the Yankees beat Minnesota Friday at Fort Myers, Fla., despite a rough start for Nova, who's in contention for the fifth slot in the rotation.

Cano went 1 for 2 with a sacrifice fly and an RBI double as the designated hitter, playing for the second straight day after winning MVP award honors for the Dominican Republic in the WBC.

Nova gave up back-to-back home runs to Justin Morneau and Ryan Doumit in the second inning. He gave up seven hits, five runs - four earned - and one walk in 5 1-3 innings, striking out three.

"I'm not happy," said Nova, who is in a fight with David Phelps to be the fifth starter. "I don't like the way I threw the ball today. It doesn't matter whether I'm in a competition or not. I always want to do my best. I'm not worried about any competition. My competition is with myself."

Nova's spring ERA rose to 4.19.

"He made some mistakes with his fastball," manager Joe Girardi said. "His curveball was not quite as sharp as it has been in the past."

Brennan Boesch, trying to win a spot as a backup outfielder, was a late scratch from the Yankees lineup because of sore left ribs. He'll probably be held out for the next three days as a precaution, and the manager wasn't happy that Boesch waited to mention his discomfort until after the two-plus-hour bus trip.

Blue Jays 1, Red Sox 0

Toronto closer Casey Janssen opened in impressive fashion.

Janssen struck out two during a perfect seventh inning in his spring debut as the Blue Jays beat Boston at Dunedin, Fla.

"First time out there, I guess it couldn't have gone any better," Janssen said.

Janssen, who finished with 22 saves last season, had surgery in November to address lingering shoulder soreness. After striking out Lyle Overbay and Mauro Gomez, the right-hander got a grounder from Mike Carp.

"His ball was exploding," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "I thought he was popping the ball pretty good, so that's a great sign."

J.A. Happ continued his strong exhibition season, allowing two hits in six shutout innings for Toronto. The left-hander could begin the season at Triple-A, in a long relief role or at some point move into a starting spot if the Blue Jays decide to drop struggling Ricky Romero from the rotation.

Romero is 0-1 with a 7.27 ERA in four big league exhibition games. The left-hander had control issues in a minor league game Thursday after working on mechanics with pitching coach Pete Walker.

"He's making some changes, and you don't expect them to happen right away," Gibbons said. "Hopefully his next go around it's going to be better."

Romero is scheduled to pitch Tuesday against Pittsburgh.

Boston reliever Alfredo Aceves got the start and scattered two hits over five shutout innings.

The Red Sox lineup consisted of mostly backup candidates and prospects. Overbay, the former Toronto first baseman, went 0 for 2.

"We're going to take every day available to us to make a decision on how our bench is going to round out," Boston manager John Farrell said.

Overbay can opt out of his contract Tuesday.

Notes

Mets plan to put LHP Santana on disabled list

As expected, New York Mets lefty Johan Santana will start the season on the disabled list while he works to strengthen his pitching shoulder.

Mets manager Terry Collins announced the plan Friday before a game against the Miami Marlins. The 33-year-old Santana hasn't pitched in a spring training game this year

"He's not going to open with us," Collins said. "He's going to have to get himself ready and that's going to certainly determine on a daily basis where he's at, but we'll be gone. I'll have to monitor him by the phone."

The Mets soon will officially put the two-time Cy Young winner on the DL. They open the season at home on April 1 against San Diego.

Santana hasn't thrown a bullpen session since March 3. That outing was not part of the Mets' schedule and came after general manager Sandy Alderson expressed disappointment that Santana didn't report to camp ready to pitch.

Chapman will close for the Reds again

Left-hander Aroldis Chapman will be bringing his 100 mph fastball out of the bullpen again this season.

The Cincinnati Reds decided to keep Chapman as their closer on Friday instead of moving him into the starting rotation, a move that pleased the Cuban pitcher. He was a vital part of the Reds' drive to the NL Central title last year, saving 38 games.

General manager Walt Jocketty signed Jonathan Broxton to a three-year, $21 million deal after last season, giving the Reds a proven closer so they could move Chapman into the rotation. The left-hander was a starter during spring training, but said last week he had become comfortable as a closer and would rather stay in that role.

The Reds took his preference into account in making the decision, though it wasn't the overriding factor.

"Unsolicited, he said that," manager Dusty Baker said. "You want a guy at a comfort level. But do you tell your boss what to do? If you do, you won't be working long."

D-backs CF Eaton possibly out 2 months

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Adam Eaton will be out for up to two months because of a sprained left elbow.

Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers said that Eaton had an MRI that revealed a small tear in the fibers around the ulnar collateral ligament. Eaton had been bothered by a sore elbow for a couple of weeks and the Diamondbacks had recently given him a couple days off.

"Of course you like to play through it as a competitor," Eaton said. "You don't like to be in the training room at all and get that type of attention. A couple of guys I talked to talked me in to going in and getting it checked out. I was still thinking it was nothing. I've never had any arm problems my whole life."